Conference to feature trend setters

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When we think of land claims and Aboriginal rights on this side of the globe, we tend to think of the uniqueness of our complaint. We tend to think, as the Nisga'a possibly thought many times before they achieved their landmark treaty, 'this has never been done before.'

But it has. And organizers of the upcoming conference entitled A Just and Lasting Reconciliation: First Nations Government, to be held from March 19 to March 22 in Vancouver, has scheduled several learned Aboriginal scholars, lawyers and activists from countries such as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to describe their experiences regarding achieving land claims victories.

According to conference chair Frank Cassidy, who is an associate professor at the school of Public Administration, University of Victoria, the Reconciliation Conference is about "providing an international forum for Aboriginal people to "dialogue." He went on to say that the conference "will give Aboriginal people in Canada an opportunity to develop an awareness of what Indigenous people are doing all over the world."

Of particular note are four traditional leaders from "down-under." The conference will be opened on March 22 with keynote speaker Chief Judge J. V. Williams of New Zealand, who is no stranger to Vancouver. In the mid-80s, Williams studied here for a time and obtained his Masters degree with first class honors in Indigenous rights law at the University of British Columbia. An advocate for his people, he is an internationally recognized expert in Indigenous rights law and one of New Zealand's leading specialists in Maori issues and, prior to his appointment to the Maori Land Court, was a regular guest speaker at national and international conferences on Indigenous rights and environmental law. He has published extensive academic papers on both subjects.

Leah Whiu is of the Ngapuhi and Ngatihine peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand. According to her conference bio, Leah is an activist working "to illuminate and transform oppressive practices and relationships of power which act to exclude and discriminate against people on the basis of their gender, race, culture, class and/or sexuality."

She is currently a lecturer at the school of Law, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, where she teaches human rights law; Maori women and the law; intersectionalities: race, gender sexuality and the law; and law and society, which explores the construction and impact of political, economic, historical and social institutions and ideologies on the law. She was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 1995.

Jackie Huggins of Australia is a member of the Bidjara and Birri Gubba Juru people and the deputy director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at the University of Queensland. In popular demand as a speaker on Aboriginal issues, she is a well-known historian and author, with articles published widely. She was a member of the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and is now a director, Reconciliation Australia.